Search the Community

I'm in the process of taking over maintenance of a lovely narrow boat that my dad's getting too old for unfortunately. I'm very much a newbie and the kindness of local boat people has got me pretty far. However, while I've managed to install a new leisure battery and so have power, I need to do some maintenance that means plugging in a drill, but none of the 240v sockets work. I've tried flipping the switch on this control, but it had no effect. With each setting I continue to get power from the battery, but never via the sockets. Am I warm, or barking up completely the wrong tree?

Can anyone help? I’m changing my batteries to AGM and need to install a DC/DC charger (CTEK D 250SE, which I have). I’m not sure if my battery is even using a battery charger at the moment. is that possible? I’ve tried to install it but I’m not confident enough to be sure it’s done correctly so I was wondering if any boaters on here have experience with installing this charger? Or if anybody has a number for a boat electrician who can help that wouldn’t break the bank (London, W10 area).

My first post as a new member. All comments/help much appreciated. We've just bought our first narrowboat after many years as hirers. I'm now trying to get my head around what we've bought! I'm making progress but the electrics are leaving me stumped. The boat is well equipped with 12v, 240v, shore power, victron 1500w inverter/charger etc. and lots of wires! Can anyone suggest a good book to help me understand what it all is and how it all works?

Afternoon! Quick(ish) query. We are continuous cruisers with a 63ft narrowboat - no shore-power. We are planning to get a washer dryer, just to do a couple of washes every fortnight or so. We have an inverter (Mastervolt 12/2000 - power 2000w, max 4000w), battery bank, charge from engine type set up. The washer dryers we are looking at all have a power rating of around 2100 to 2200w. I just want to know whether the inverter could handle this machine (with the engine running of course)? We have a 3.2 genny but it is noisy and would rather not use it and also I see that there can be problems with washing machines not working from gennies cos of the sine wave blah blah (I know nothing about this). I know that they are thirsty on water etc etc and some people don't agree with having them if you are a cc without shore-power etc etc, but if we run it once a fortnight for maybe 4 or 5 hours can we do this using our present inverter whilst running the engine (either whilst cruising or stationary)? Does the 4000w maximum inverter spec mean that it can comfortably deal with a machine drawing 2200w?? Hope you can help! Mike

Hello all! This question must do the rounds, but i am in the market for new leisure batteries for our liveaboard narrowboat. we have two solar panels, but recently even after cruising we have a shortage of electricity in the evening. seems like they're just not holding their charge (i just got a multi-meter - will test them tomorrow). they are a little over 2 years old anyway. i am planning to fit three new ones - currently we have 2 x 110 ah lesiures but there is space for 3. i have been looking at the numax 110 ah for around 75 quid each, which apparently come off the same shelf as Lucas batteries. What about these traction batteries, although we only have a 55amp alternator. we are pretty careful with the electricity we use, but we have just bought an electric fridge (!) - a Shoreline RR102 (can't find amp/hour usage rates - anyone?). Can we realistically operate this fridge/freezer (along with lights, radio etc) with 3 leisure batteries, running the engine once or twice a day for an hour or two? If not do you have any suggestions? cheers!!

hiya quick query!! our narrowboat started life as a holiday boat and so there is an absolute proliferation of unwanted 230v/115v shaver sockets!! these are big and heavy with internal transformers, currently unused but connected to our 230/240v system powered by our inverter. can these unwanted sockets be rewired into normal 240v plug sockets?? also, can someone enlighten me as to whether we (terrestrial, and riverine with inverters) use 240v or 230v?? i always thought it was the former, but someone told me this has changed to the latter?? am i being wound up?? is the earth not flat? SB

morning all!! i recently replaced my water pump to something a bit more powerful as i had issues with water pressure and my paloma not working very well, now there is plenty of pressure, in fact so much so that the water does not have time to get hot enough now as it passes through the boiler too quickly (the opposite of what i had before which was water too hot, but with the addition of cold reduced the pressure and so stopped the boiler burning - they're pretty contrary and fickle these boats I'm finding out!!). the new issue is this: when i try and turn the hot tap down a little (or even the cold tap for that matter) the pump sort of only comes half on, judders a little and the lights flicker. what is going on with this???? with the old pump if i turned the tap down a little there would still be a steady decrease in pump speed, water pressure etc, now it seems like the pump only likes it when the taps are full on, not half on?? And why would this affect the electrics?? has anyone had this problem before? yours rather frustradedly SB

Hi there, I'm about to buy a boat which has been fitted out (electrics-wise) for shore power, with loads of 240v plug sockets everywhere, TVs, Kettles etc, but we don't anticipate or want to be hooked up at all. What I was wondering was if anyone has had experience in changing this sort of setup over to a 12v, battery-based setup, and what challenges they faced whilst doing so. Is it just a case of removing the external hookup point, connecting the internal wiring to the existing 12v loop (which runs the cabin lights etc) and replacing the 240v sockets with 12v ones? Maybe keep one or two and run through a separate, inverter-containing loop from the battery bank? I don't expect it to be that easy but hopefully it won't mean ripping the walls apart! Cheers, Alistair

Hi All, Does anyone out there have a SM Hudson boat 57' plus, with engine room and boatmans cabin built within say the last 5 years and would allow me to view there boat to help with a boat build on my unfinished Hudson shell? Would be very much appreciated. Regards John

Hello, I have a Lugger generator (Model number: M673LD3.5) and it keeps tripping out (or appearing to) when i switch to generator input - there isn't a load on it at that point and the fuse is intact. Any ideas? Does it just need a service? Thank you for any help

The use of an earth return for onboard electrical equipment is discouraged as it is a potential source of hull corrosion ? YET most of us use high power alternators with exactly that, so what's the difference ? If a few mA from a radio will cause damage, think what 100A will do !

Hello all, Sorry for the long post and the rather basic questions, I am a genius with computers but a complete novice when it comes to boats. I have recently become the owner of another cabin cruiser after receiving a second chance offer on eBay and am after some advice/guidance on renovating her. This was the original advert: 20ft Cabin Cruiser Chenise is a great little family cruiser ideal for both river and sea, she has a forward cabin equipped with sink, work tops, bench seating with storage under, top hatch with integrated fan and two under counter cupboards. The V shaped hull is designed to form a bed with the appropriate cushions and boarding. A 12v inverter is fitted to power 240v equipment via the solar charged battery such as dvd player, radio etc. The rear deck has a full canopy witch has recently been re-proofed, the flooring is decking planks with an access panel to the electric bilge pump. Bench seating with loads of storage under including manual bilge pump. Water from the bilge and sink is ejected via built in ports. Steering wheel and remote controls for the main engine, cabin door with padlock clasp, window and port hole with removable panel. The decks have anti slip plates, bow rails, bow anchor roller, tie off points etc. 2x nav lights and 1x rod holder. Main Engine. Mercury 40hp (pull start) connected to remote steering and controls, last serviced November 2014. Great motor and moves her along on both river and sea. (see below) Auxiliary Motor. Mariner 2hp. Small unit but pushes her along to get you home if main engine should fail. Recent service with new impeller, oil etc. Chenise is a great boat and has given us some good family weekend fishing / cruising etc. She is currently moored at Heybridge Basin in Essex offering great cruising and fishing and access to the sea via the manned sea lock. It is possible to sail to Chelmsford stopping off at supermarkets and pubs on the way for great family days out. (Moorings available) Chenise was bought with the intention of a full refurbishment but enjoyed her so much we never got round to it and just enjoyed her “as is”. We have now purchased a larger boat hence this sale. Bad Bits. Used boat 2 weeks ago and all fine but now can’t start main engine, started to rub down cabin but never finished. Needs some TLC but will come good. Viewing welcomed and encouraged. Was purchased in this location so no trailer. If you buy to remove she will need to be sailed through sea lock to a slip way about 15 min sail at the cost of £30 to use slip way. (aux engine will get you there) Less than 10 feedback score please contact me before bidding! UK buyers only. You bid to buy, not view or haggle so please come and view if you have any concerns as this is now relisted and I really need the mooring for new boat Pictures can be viewed here: http://s287.photobucket.com/user/southeastbikers/library/Chenice?sort=3&page=1 The pictures are from two adverts, the original sale in August, which apparently fell through (and then the Mercury outboard unit stopped working) and how it looks now with the yellow/green interior, sink, and worktop units. She is cosmetically a tidy cabin cruiser but I need help with creating a 'plan' of things required to have her canal/seaworthy as I wish to take her from her current moorings out of the sealock and around to other rivers/routes (she is currently on a 13mile navigation that does not connect to anything else) So far I have secured the rights to her moorings and insured her with AIG (Insured her as a Microplus, although any confirmation would be great!), and thankfully at this stage she does not require a BSC due to being moored at the Basin, but obviously this would be necessary to take her on either the current navigation or any other inland waters. My first priority is to have the outboard repaired and hopefully have this running, having no experience of outboards and limited experiences of boats in general this will certainly be an adventure/challenge, I am currently attempting to contact the previous owner to obtain the 'auxilary engine' mentioned in the advert as this was not left on the boat, nor were any batteries or other marine items. My questions are: The boat apparently has 2 navigation lights but I have not seen a fuse panel like we have on our other boat, infact I am not sure how any of the electrical components are being powered so would like to fit a fuse panel, are these panels difficult to wire in yourself and do they need to meet any sort of requirements? What one would I require? According to the advert, there was a small auxilary engine (which we are still attempting to obtain), other boats we have seen have these mounted on a square block that protudes from one side of the transom, but our boat does not have this, is there a specialist mount we require to mount this next to the main engine? I aim to kit out the interior further, do I require a particular foam/wood for this purpose? I am not a fan of the padlock/clasp cabin lock, are there any issues with fitting a general yale-type door lock to cabin doors? I'm sure I will come across more on a closer inspection over the weekend, but all help for now is much appreciated!

Hi, the BSS says that cables between a battery and - another battery, or - an inverter over 1000W, or - a master switch, - etc, should be "sufficiently" big: "must be approximately 25mm2". To me, "approximately" means "as long as it's really safe". With two leisure batteries of 110Ah in parallel, is it safe to have a 16mm2 cable between them? I have seen 16mm2 cables on several of my friends boats. I am wondering whether I should propose to change their cables to 25mm2. Also, if a cable to the master switch is 16mm2 and has a 50A fuse, that should be safe and hence pass BSS, right? PS: Woops, I cannot change the title anymore, it should be "25mm2". Mistyped.

We have a Beta 43 engine with twin alternators. The domestic 150A alternator charges four domestic AGM batteries which are now just over 2 years old. The boat and the alternator are nearly 9 years old. Normally the domestic alternator charges at a voltage ranging from 13.8 to 14.5 volts. On a recent trip it was charging at 14.8 to 15.2 volts. The batteries were not hot after several hours at this charging rate. I have no way of measuring the current at which it was charging. Should I be worried about this and what might be the reason? We have no separate regulator between the alternator and the batteries. We do have a solar panel (100W) charging the same four batteries through a regulator. The solar installation is also about 2 years old. Any ideas?

Does anyone know what the diameter/pitch is on an A127 shaft thread please? I am pretty sure it's some variety of M17 but can't remember whether it's M17 x 1.0 or M17 x 1.5, and I don't have the alternator handy to measure. N

Good evening everybody. This is my first post here after joining so forgive me if my questions are a bit basic (or thick). I am serious about moving on to the water to live. It is something I have been wanting to do for a long time as bricks and mortar are not really for me. However I am a complete novice when it comes to the world of canal boats. I have been on them and even stayed on one before but I have never been involved in owning one or knowing anyone who has. And so before I buy a boat which I have seen I have a few basic questions relating to making a leisure boat suitable for living aboard, and please forgive me if these questions have been answered a thousand times before. And so in no particular order, if anyone could help me with these questions to start: Survey: Not knowing much about boats I assume it would be sensible of me to have the boat surveyed first, can anybody give me a rough idea of costs involved? (I was chatting to another boat owner when I went to view it and he had worked on the boat and said it was in really good order mechanically,had low hours on the engine, had recently been blacked, and had a long safety certificate etc... Plus he said it was the same owners for 14 years and they looked after it really well and this is reflected by the overall decent condition the boat was in when i viewed it) Electrics: The boat currently has a 12V system running the lights and a 12V fridge. As I have a small number of appliances which would require traditional mains sockets what would be the most cost effective solution to providing power for these? Batteries: The boat has been up for sale for quite a long time (over 9 months i think) and the owner only comes out every now and again to turn over the engine and occasionally take her out. Is there a simple way to check the state of the batteries or would I need to rely on a full survey? Hot Water: The hot water is currently supplied by this method: 'engine cooling water circuit is fitted to a vertical calorifier' - As i understand it I would need to run the engine every day for a couple of hours or so to provide hot water. What is the best/most cost effective alternative to this system so that I could have hot water without running the engine? Heating: The boat currently has a solid fuel stove which is connected to two radiators for heating. Is this the most effective way of heating the boat or are there better alternatives? These are the most basic questions I have at the moment and I would really appreciate any advice you all can give (after browsing the forum for a while I know that have more money is probably the most valuable advice). Finally, my plan is to be as independent as possible which means not using a residential mooring and so having limited access to on-shore power so any advice on starting up, converting a leisure boat to a live aboard or any other general advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your help Dave

Hello! Having lived off grid for 3 years, using only the 12v system I find myself in a marina with the opportunity to connect to shoreline and I was wondering: 1. Can I use 12v devices whilst connected to the mains? 2. Does the mains hook up charge my batteries? Thanks in advance.... Diana

Hi all, So my solar cable got cut due to the way the cable was running through the bracket, I have gone to buy some solar connectors from maplins, can anyone confirm these are the right ones. The lady in the shop was surprisingly unhelpful... This is what I got : http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-cn40-a020-high-power-solar-connector-n55ln Is it as simple as just fitting this connector? or should I replace the whole cable Thanks for your help Martin

After 5.5 years it has come time to replace the batteries in our leisure bank. Because of miscellaneous access, placement and space factors ‘built into’ the boat by the original fit-out, our present leisure bank consists of two 170Ah and one 105Ah battery. They are all sealed wet batteries -- same type; same brand -- replaced new at the same time, but different sizes. I was going to simply replace all with the same again, thinking 5.5 years (CCing for most of that time; 200w solar topping up in season) doesn’t seem bad. BUT I have recently been advised that as the two 170Ah batteries will be ‘overworking’ or ‘pushing’ the single 105Ah battery, adding that single 105Ah battery wasn’t really adding much to the bank. At least not as much as I might think. I didn’t have a chance to clarify this at the time. Can anyone shed some light on mixing different sized batteries?

My Nespresso machine refuses to work when fed by my non-sinewave inverter or by my generator. Is there a smoothing gadget available that might improve the waveform of my A.C.? I don't want to spend hundreds!

Hello, We have just put a deposit down on our first narrowboat and although its are very exciting, its a little daunting so we am looking for some advice. It currently has a Eberspacher hot air heater under the bed - does anyone know about these, is it worth keeping? This is what the surveyor said An Eberspacher D1L hot air heater was installed under the double berth in the forward cabin. There was a thermostat and control unit in the cabin. Ducting was no longer connected to vents and some joins in ducting had been made with duct tape. Recommendation Either decommission Eberspacher hot air heater or commission a qualified engineer to inspect the heater and its installation prior to its use. We are just wondering whether its worth keeping hold of and getting serviced or whether we should just get rid of it? Also any recommendations for an electrican and also a gas engineer in london would be very much appreciated. Thanks for your time. Emily & Juan

Hi all, For a while I've been toying with the idea of buying a narrowboat to continuously cruise along the London Canals, for a few weeks or so I've been doing a fair bit of research but for some areas I still haven't found the answers I'm looking for so thought I'd turn to you guys to see if you can help me out at all! Apologies in advance if some areas have been discussed already and also, if any of the questions sound silly... I really am a complete newbie to this... 1. As I mention - I'll be CC along the Canals in London, so have been researching what distance as I need to travel each week, obviously don't want to take the mick and want to stay on the right side of Canal and River Trust. However, their website isn't totally clear on how far - all I can see is that in a years licence, 15-20miles is expected, which seems more than fine. But how far is the minimum? Just for an example, say I started in Little Venice and was travelling East, how far would I need to travel to satisfy the Canal and River Trust for say one weekend I didn't want to travel 'that' far? 2. Which brings me on to my next point - as I read, each 14 days would be the time I top up water, which would top up my batteries (as I'm moving) and usually empty the loos out. May seem like a silly question but are these water points at regular intervals? Similarly, to electric points? (if I needed it half way) Also, are loo-emptying-places at regular intervals also? 3. Again, brings me on to my next point of water storage tanks and electricity batteries... my budget is around 25k and aiming for around a 40ft-er trad steel narrowboat so from what I've seen, many don't have a tank or seems quite small. If so, can this be retrofitted and to what cost? I understand becoming more frugal is all part and parcel of it (which I'm excited about) but for say a 10/15minute shower a day - what sort of tank should I be looking at to tide me over for two weeks? However, I guess this would hinge on question number two! In terms of electricity, I don't watch a lot of TV but would like to charge my phone, listen to music, have lights! Where should I even start with what to look for to tide me over 2 weeks again? 4. I guess this question is more to the nitty-gritty when I view but what are the main tips/points you'd recommend to look out for a bad conditioned narrowboat? Is there such a thing? Don't mind buying something that requires a bit of modernisation but in terms of 'behind the scene' stuff, what do I look for when looking at an engine? At the electric board? Heating system? Or should this all be taking care of at survey stage? Anyway, I think that's probably enough for now on my first post. I really would appreciate any tips/answers - no matter how big or small! Really excited to be buying - just need to get my head around it all first!! Speak soon, Nat

Hello All, So having recently bought my first canal boat I am slowly adapting to canal life, and following lots of helpful advice from this forum I am having some new electrics installed (solar panels, inverter, batteries etc.) And taking some advice from other forum member I am now going to address my lighting and plug socket (more USB ports and LED lighting !!) So what I would like to know can anyone recommend some LED ceiling lights, are these straight forward to change from what I currently have, they look like a small flourecent tube. Is it just a case of changing the wires? Would I need to put a fuse in the cable line? Also what cables do people recommend for their 12v electrics and any tips on where to purchase these would be really apreciated. I would also like to install car lighter type plugs or usb plugs and wondered if anyone could recommend a good one of these and is it simple to just 'insert' these into an existing cable ring. Do I need to be careful how much I run off one ring, should I install a fuse as well? If so what type is good? Any advice greatly apreciated. Thanks for reading Martin

Hi there, I've got one of these (see pic below), but want to change it for something that can take more solar panels and is a bit more modern. We use it with a 60A alternator, and 1x 100w solar panel (although I think this regulator can only take up to 60w solar. We don't have a wind turbine. It only seems to produce a max of 14.1v when the engine's on (even after hours of cruising) and recently has been hitting 15.1v through the solar panel - which seems a bit high?! I'd like to replace it with a charger suitable for the alternator, and maybe solar as well. Do I need to get a separate charger for the alternator, then an MPPT charger for the solar panel (I also want to add either one or two 175w solar panel to make 275w or 375w in total). We have 3x 110ah leisure batteries and a starter battery, and a Sterling 1600W pure sine wave inverter that is yet to be hooked up.. Any advice, brands, models to watch out for etc, most welcome! Cheers, Alistair

Before embarking on installation of my AC system, if anyone could share any information on the following I would appreciate it. According to the RCD (recreational craft directive) is the following AC system acceptable? (I shall start form shoreline connection to AC outlets) Shore line connection plug fed into an RCD (residual current device) within 0.5 meters form the plug, the RCD shall be housed in a waterproof box next to the plug (a garage box). This RCD shall feed into two single pole MCBs, one connected to the diesel immersion heater, and the other connected to the inverter. Out of the inverter I propose to feed another RCD, housed within the electrical cupboard which shall feed two other single pole MCBs, a 10A MCB for a ring circuit of ac sockets (12 sockets, which I know is a large amount for one ring, but with 2.5mm cable and a smaller MCB this will reduce loading the sockets with the full whack of the 3KW inverter), and the other 12A MCB for a washing machine. My main question is... Does the galvanic isolator need to be connected at both RCDS or would connecting it to the first RCD ground the inverter through the galvanic isolator? Or do both RCDs and Inverter require grounding through the galvanic isolator. I will also be connecting the inverter to the batteries but that shall be for another day. Thanks, Will